Ty Lawson: Traded To Houston

At the time of writing, the Houston Rockets just acquired Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson for literally the four worst players on their roster.

The deal which the Rockets will receive a future second-round pick (2017) along with Lawson in exchange for Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a protected first round pick (2016) to Denver.

Lawson was arrested and charged with his fourth DUI – and second within a year – on July 14, but the relationship between he and the Nuggets had been strained long before that. When the Rockets go small – Dwight Howard and center, surrounded by Trevor Ariza, James Harden, Beverley and Lawson, they’ll be very risky offensively.

It’s an interesting deal for both teams.

And yet Lawson has not been exiled in the National Basteball Association, not yet, in large part because his last season was one of his best. Three weeks later, Lawson was popped for DUI again.

The trade also means that Emmanuel Mudiay will become the starting point guard.

For Denver, the ability to secure a first-round pick in an otherwise barren market for Lawson was something of a coup for general manager TIm Connelly. The Pelicans added Alvin Gentry, and are hoping that a healthy Jrue Holiday is able to help stabilize the offense as they unleash holy hell through Anthony Davis.

The Nuggets would be happy if either Papanikolaou or Johnson were role players on a good team, and they’ll probably get a fair chance at some point during the season to prove they can be exactly that. The offensive firepower alone will be enough to get the Rockets back to the playoffs – though their backcourt defense will be a glaring weakness. There were talks of a Lawson trade with the Sacramento Kings after the Nuggets hired new coach Michael Malone.

Lawson, 27, has 2 years and a little more than million dollars left on his contract. I have a great relationship with the players on the team. On the other hand, the Rockets could improve on their No. 2 overall pace from last season.